John Calvin Commentary Psalms 57:1

"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; For my soul taketh refuge in thee: Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge, Until [these] calamities be overpast." — Psalms 57:1 (ASV)

Be merciful unto me, O God! The repetition of the prayer proves that the grief, the anxiety, and the apprehension that filled David at this time must have been unusually intense. It is noticeable that his plea for mercy is his having hoped in God.

His soul trusted in him; and this is a form of expression whose force should not be overlooked, for it implies that the trust he exercised came from his very innermost affections—that it was not volatile, but deeply and strongly rooted. He declares the same truth in figurative terms when he adds his conviction that God would cover him with the shadow of his wings.

The Hebrew word חסה, chasah, which I have translated to hope, occasionally signifies to lodge, or obtain shelter, and in this sense it may be understood very appropriately in this passage, where an allusion is made to the shadow of wings. In short, David had committed himself entirely to God's guardianship and now experienced that blessed consciousness of dwelling in a place of safety, which he expresses in the beginning of Psalm 90.

The divine protection is compared to the shadow of wings because God, as I have elsewhere observed, to invite us more familiarly to himself, is represented as stretching out his wings, like a hen or other birds, to shelter their young. The greater our ingratitude and perversity in being so slow to comply with such an endearing and gentle invitation!

He does not merely say, in general, that he would hope in God and rest under the shadow of his wings, but particularly that he would do so at the time when wickedness should pass over him like a storm or whirlwind. The Hebrew word הוה, hovah, which I have rendered wickedness, some translate power. Be that as it may, it is evident he declares that God would prove to be his refuge, and God's wings his shelter, under every tempest of affliction that blew over him.

There are seasons when we are privileged to enjoy the calm sunshine of prosperity; but there is not a day of our lives in which we may not suddenly be overtaken by storms of affliction, and it is necessary that we should be persuaded that God will cover us with his wings.

To hope he adds prayer. Indeed, those who have placed their trust in God will always direct their prayers to him; and David here gives a practical proof of his hope by showing that he turned to God in his emergencies. In addressing God, he applies an honorable title to him, commending him as the God who performed whatever he had promised or (as we may understand the expression) who carries forward to perfection the work which he has begun.

The Hebrew word גמר, gomer, employed here, seems to be used in the same sense as in Psalm 138:8, as the scope of both passages is the same. It materially confirms and sustains our hope to reflect that God will never forsake the workmanship of his own hands—that he will perfect the salvation of his people and continue his divine guidance until he has brought them to the termination of their course.

Some read, to God, who rewards me; but this fails to bring out the force of the expression. It would be more to the purpose, in my judgment, to read, God, who fails me; in which case the sentence would, of course, need to be understood adversatively: that though God failed him and did not stretch out his hand for his deliverance, he would still persist in crying to him.

The other meaning, which some have suggested, I will cry to God, who performs, or exerts to the utmost, his severity against me, is evidently forced, and the context leads us to understand the word as referring to the goodness of God, whose constancy in perfecting his work, once begun, should always be present to our remembrance.